The secret is in his words. I feel it’s there. All these systems in place both personally and nationally. A simple meal with strangers. Why does that frighten us so much? Maybe it doesn’t frighten you but I imagine for most of the world there are strong internal walls of protection up. I consider the way I feel when I end up sitting down to eat at work and someone I don’t really know sits at the same table. YIKES! Fear!! What can I show this person? What are the rules? Can I just ignore them? lol If you’re honest you’ve felt this way even if you don’t anymore.
There is a remarkable movie called “Best of Enemies” that tells the story of race relations in the US in the late 1970s. One of the most amazing aspects of the story to me is not that anything spectacular happened to change people but that by simply spending time together, forced to share a lunch table, a few individuals were able to change, to open their hearts and let go of their fears. It’s a subtle film that tells a powerful story.
Maybe we should all be forced to sit at different tables at lunch throughout our public schooling. I think back to the politics of the lunch room beginning in elementary school. Friends sit with friends. The different sit alone. No adults were telling us to do anything different back then. There was no guidance on that that I remember. I can remember a little compassion but mostly the cruelty of kids also acting out of fear. Fear of themselves. Fear of being alone. I wonder what would have become of different generations if we had been taught to move tables every day. How would that have shaped us?
Just questions on how we can all move forward. No pointing fingers or blaming anyone for the time or human nature. Just wondering what simple changes we could make in our lives that could change the world.
Open Life Up 